Supporters claim it will bring extra revenue to the local economies of Riverside, Moody and Pell City, but Alabama Baptists and others opposed to Sunday alcohol sales fear it will bring nothing more than alcohol-related problems.
On Aug. 11 these three cities in St. Clair County voted in favor of Sunday alcohol sales, something that wasn’t completely surprising to Paul Brasher, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, Pell City.
“It’s just really sad. There wasn’t much support to oppose the (referendum),” Brasher said.
Brasher has opposed the legislation since he heard about it four or five years ago, he said, but intensified his efforts in the last few months making phone calls, mailing letters and utilizing social media to get the word out and encourage Alabama Baptist pastors to vote “no” and encourage their congregations to do the same.
Ben Chandler, director of missions for St. Clair Baptist Association, said it was a “sad day” for the cities that approved Sunday alcohol sales.
“There’s absolutely nothing good about alcohol sales.”
The alcohol sales referendum vote came as a result of legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, during this year’s regular legislative session.
In Pell City, where the most voters made it to the polls, Sunday sales were approved 1,213–659. In Riverside, officials said the measure passed 203–73. The city council plans to ratify the vote after its next meeting, making the change immediate. In Moody, voters approved Sunday sales 367–187 and at press time the city council said it would certify the results during a special meeting Aug. 18.
Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), said the passage of Sunday alcohol sales is a reflection of several factors.
“First the pro-alcohol folks have a lot more money to promote a ‘yes’ vote than the opponents. All the proponents talk about is the money that will come to a community or the businesses that will come to the community,” he said. “They will not tell the stories of people whose lives have been destroyed or the families that have been hurt … by alcohol use.”
Alcohol-related problems
“On the other hand churches that are fighting Sunday alcohol sales must scrape together a little money from their missions and ministry accounts in order to voice their opposition. Interestingly when alcohol-related problems increase in a community, it is the churches that are called upon to pick up the pieces of the lives and families that have been negatively impacted.”
John Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pell City, who opposed the measure in his town, wrote about his opposition to alcohol sales and about what the Bible says about alcohol in a blog post on johnthweatt.com the day before the vote.
“I do not drink alcohol for several reasons,” Thweatt wrote, who also serves as first vice president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. “While I do not think the Bible ever commands total abstinence from alcohol I choose not to drink.”
The process that led him to that decision, he wrote, was asking four simple questions.
“First is it helpful? (1 Cor. 6: 12). … Second does it master? In the second half of 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul said, ‘All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.’ Does alcohol have the potential to master and enslave you? The answer is it can absolutely master you.
“Third does it cause others to stumble? (1 Cor. 8:13). … Finally does it glorify God?”
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